What is cervicogenic headache?

Headache is a very common illness. The symptoms are similar but the causes vary.

A 50-year-old female patient who suffers from a headache whenever she reads or uses the computer needs to carry painkillers with her wherever she goes. She did a check-up with a chiropractor and was told that her neck only had 50 percent of its normal activity and her neck muscles were extremely tight.

The X-ray showed that the natural lordotic curve in her cervical spine has become abnormally backward. Spine spurs were also found. All these point to the likelihood that her headache was caused by a deformity in her neck. It is called cervicogenic headache.

Fortunately, after receiving treatment such as shockwave therapy, the curvature of her neck has been readjusted and her stressed neck muscles are much relieved.

Cervicogenic headache is very common among heavy digital gadget users. Patients may come from a very different backgrounds, but they all share the same bad postures: hunching their back and tilting their heads and shoulders forward while working. These gestures create tremendous stress on the spine.

Though they may not feel it initially, the spine will gradually become less and less stable, creating stress on the cervical vertebrae muscles and eventually causing serious pain.

Cervicogenic headache is due to the pressure on cervical nerves and its associated conditions include a headache, occipital neuralgia, as well as pain in the forehead, back of the neck, ears, eye area and crown area.

Some patients even experience severe symptoms like ringing in the ears, blurry vision, dizziness and light sensitivity. These symptoms mainly occur on either side of the body and can last for three hours to as long as a week. If the patient maintains certain postures for a prolonged period of time, the situation will get worse.

To avoid cervicogenic headache, always sit with the head facing forward and the back close to the chair. While reading, make sure the article is at eye level and do not tilt forward. Try not to carry heavy stuff around, and if you must, switch hands from time to time or use a cart or backpack instead.

Most cervicogenic headache sufferers are reluctant to visit the doctor. They believe the symptoms will naturally go away after resting for awhile. But if their headache is caused by more complicated problems, their spinal pain will happen more frequently. Patients must keep track of their health and not let the golden period to treat their illness pass.

The head of a panel that overseesthe investigative work of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said officers of the anti-graft body had “left no stone unturned” in probing the case of alleged corruption involving former...

It’s widely believed that only those with little education would fall for phone scams. Apparently, this is not the case. Leo Ho Cheuk-yin, winner of the World Solo Harmonica Championship at the age of 15...

Kwong Wah Hospital (KWH) in Mong Kok has seen some redevelopment works put under suspension as engineers have uncovered ground subsidence problem on an adjacent site that houses another building. The construction work will not...

Hong Kong’s version of the national anthem law will come with an appendage bearing suggestions as to the occasions and special events that the anthem should be played, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick...

Chinese President Xi Jinping praised Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor during a meeting held in Beijing Monday afternoon, lauding her for her work over the past year. Lam led the Hong Kong...

A bizarre incident took place in Hong Kong last Saturday. Someone had hurled tens of hundreds of HK$100 dollar bills from the rooftop of a residential building in Sham Shui Po, triggering a stampede...

The government plans to table the national anthem bill to the Legislative Council at the beginning of next year. According to sources, the administration has decided to add a new clause to the bill,...

Last month, the government released the Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2017, which suggested that that the poverty rate in the city stood at 20.1 percent and that the size of the poor population was...

Eleven people, all of them from mainland China, were arrested in Hong Kong over the weekend for trying to resell tickets to concerts of Cantopop superstar Andy Lau Tak-wah at vastly inflated prices. In...